Hampton Beach Casino redevelopment approved by New Hampshire town board

The Hampton Beach Casino has the green light to go ahead with a major redevelopment on the popular tourist strip. The town planning board voted unanimously Wednesday night to approve plans to renovate the New Hampshire attraction.

The current site on Ocean Boulevard is more than 100 years old and developers say it “has reached the end of its useful life.” They also say the building is not fully accessible to people with disabilities and lacks modern-day fire and flood prevention measures.

“The ‘Casino’ has a long history – my grandparents used to visit it and the Beach back in the 1920s and 30s. But it is now beyond repair,” Hampton Planning Board chair Sharon Mullen told WBZ-TV.

The new plans call for the casino ballroom capacity to be increased from 2,200 seats to 3,500. It would also have a new charitable gaming venue, a 208-room boutique hotel, 99 residential condominium units, a spa, restaurants and retail space, and a 732-space parking garage.

Developers said demolition work could begin after next summer, and the duration of the construction would be about three years, with the project finishing sometime in 2029 or 2030. A more detailed construction plan will be worked out with the building inspector, the engineering firm working on the project said.

“My expectation is nobody wants us out there building on the weekends in the summer,” TEC CEO Rick Friberg told the board.

The casino is owned by Sal Lupoli, who founded the regional pizza chain Sal’s.